By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Flyers closed out a three-game series in Pittsburgh with a 4-3 loss in regulation, pushing them back into a tie for the final playoff spot. As the season nears the halfway point, the schedule only gets tougher.
The Flyers will take on the Washington Capitals three times this week, starting with a Sunday night meeting to close out a stretch of six games in nine nights.
Game time is at 7 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Washington Capitals | GP | G | A | P |
| James van Riemsdyk | 21 | 10 | 16 | 26 | Nicklas Backstrom | 23 | 10 | 16 | 26 |
| Joel Farabee | 20 | 10 | 9 | 19 | John Carlson | 23 | 5 | 14 | 19 |
| Claude Giroux | 19 | 3 | 14 | 17 | Alex Ovechkin | 19 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Kevin Hayes | 21 | 8 | 9 | 17 | Tom Wilson | 21 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Jake Voracek | 18 | 3 | 12 | 15 | Jakub Vrana | 22 | 8 | 7 | 15 |
Sean Couturier had his eight-game points streak snapped on Saturday, marking just the second time this season Couturier played in a game without recording a point. Couturier made his return to the lineup a month ago against the Capitals and had an excellent game in his return, capped off with the game-winning goal.
The Flyers go back to Carter Hart for Sunday's game. Hart posted a shutout win a week ago, but was on the hook in a 5-2 loss to the Penguins on Tuesday. Hart's up-and-down season continues against the Capitals, who struck for four goals against him in their first meeting of the season.
The Capitals will go with Ilya Samsonov in goal. Samsonov was unavailable the last time the Flyers met the Capitals due to his placement on the COVID list. Samsonov is playing in just his fifth game of the season, and third since returning from the COVID list on Feb. 28. He did get some ice time on Friday in relief of Vitek Vanecek, making six saves on seven shots.
Projected Lineups
Flyers Scratches: Phil Myers (injury), Michael Raffl (injury), Morgan Frost (injury), Nate Prosser (healthy), Andy Andreoff (healthy), Carsen Twarynski (healthy)
Capitals Scratches: Tom Wilson (suspended), Jonas Siegenthaler (healthy), Trevor van Riemsdyk (healthy)
Lineup Notes
- Flyers: There is a good chance that the Flyers will remain without Phil Myers and Michael Raffl, both due to injury. Erik Gustafsson could certainly slot back into the lineup here, as would Connor Bunnaman on the fourth line after being a healthy scratch on Saturday.
- Capitals: The Capitals come in as a primarily healthy team. Their only absence from the lineup is Tom Wilson, who was issued a seven-game suspension on Saturday for his hit on Brandon Carlo on Friday night.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (20th), Capitals (5th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th), Capitals (12th)
- Recent History vs. Capitals
- Feb. 7, 2021 – Flyers 7, Capitals 4 (at WSH)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Capitals
- Claude Giroux – 46 GP, 22 G, 23 A, 45 P
- Jake Voracek – 40 GP, 15 G, 20 A, 35 P
- Sean Couturier – 34 GP, 10 G, 16 A, 26 P
- Carter Hart – 4 GP, 2-1-1, 2.71 GAA, .917 SV%
- Milestone Watch
- Erik Gustafsson needs one assist to reach 100 in his career.
- Travis Konecny needs three points to reach 200 for his career.
- Ivan Provorov needs three assists to reach 100 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN
